1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to the structure of seats in vehicles wherein the seats are designed to protect their occupants from violent impacts to the vehicle by means of energy absorbing devices incorporated into the seat structure. The invention more particularly relates to seats that pivot or otherwise move in reaction to the violent impacts so as to enhance occupant protection.
2. Background Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,087,729 B2 to Kladde, FIG. 7 in light of FIGS. 57 and 58 shows a seat that pivots on a number of axes; Kladde also shows a shock absorber connected between the back rest of the seat and the floor of the compartment where the seat is installed. European Patent EP 0834271 B1 to Bieselt at FIG. 1 shows a chair whose seat pan and back rest tilt backward wherein a coil spring resists tilting and biases the chair toward an upright position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,595 to Hensel et al. shows a pivoting seat where the pivot axis is located at the front edge of the seat pan. European Patent EP 0799741 to Gimbel shows a seat pivoted at the front edge of the seat pan, there being a coil torsion spring to resist tilting motion. U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,312 to Chen et al. shows an energy absorbing mechanism underneath a seat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,311 to Melotik shows a pin and slot feature at FIG. 4 wherein a pin forced along a slot narrower than the pin's diameter so as to deform a narrow strip of metal in a collapsible steering column assembly wherein impact energy is absorbed by the strip. A modified pin-and-slot feature preferably having a detent is incorporated into our seat assembly to control the assembly's pivoting.